CINCINNATI — It'll be a while before one Norwood boy stops beaming ear-to-ear.
One 5-year-old was given special treatment at the Bengals' home opener against the Ravens at Paycor Stadium Sunday thanks to the team's star running back.
"It was awesome. He just had the best time," said Jamie Spradlin, the boy's mother. "He was so excited. He was, like, shaking."
Spradlin said Joe Mixon messaged her husband on Facebook after seeing their son's story on the news. The little boy was nearly abducted outside his home in June by a woman posing as a worker with Child Protective Services, Spradlin said.
That encounter was captured on the family's doorbell camera. Spradlin and her husband shared the video with WCPO shortly after.
"(Mixon) said, 'Hey man, I saw what happened to your son and I'm so sorry and I would just love to do something for you and your family,'" Spradlin said.
Mixon decided to put the family up in his private suite for the game, but not before sending the boy a signed No. 28 jersey. Mixon also invited the boy down to say hi before kickoff.
"Joe walked right up to him, gave him a big fist bump and was like, 'Hey man, you ready to watch football?' and he was like, 'Yeah!'" Spradlin said. "We felt like family while we were there. We were also having a lot of conversation about what had happened and stuff."
The woman accused of trying to take Spradlin's son is 44-year-old Lisa Nacrelli.
In addition to an attempted abduction charge, she also faces charges of burglary and impersonating a peace officer. She has remained in the Hamilton County Jail since her arrest at the end of June.
According to court documents, Nacrelli told police she had been "drinking since the morning that day" and she thought the boy wasn't being supervised so she wanted to scare the boy's parents by pretending to be with CPS.
Spradlin's case is heading for a jury trial. That is set to begin on Nov. 27.
